Response of monkey glabrous skin mechanoreceptors to random noise sequences: III. Spectral analysis.

Spectral transfer functions for monkey glabrous skin tactile mechanoreceptors were computed and compared to the results from a dynamic stimulus state analysis for the same receptors. For both sets of experiments, a vibrotactile indenting punctate stimulus driven from a non-repeating-noise (NRN) signal source was used to activate afferents. In all cases, the spectral transfer function results were similar to those inferred from dynamic stimulus state analysis. However, a comparison between the laboratory data and the results from a simple neural model showed that the interpretation of spectral transfer functions is significantly enhanced when compared to the results from an instantaneous state (position, velocity, acceleration) analysis of the stimulus at the time of impulse initiation.